Race bashing victim fights student visa cancellation

Updated
January 16, 2014 20:12:00

A shocking race hate crime nearly killed a Vietnamese student in Australia and then the Immigration Department told him his visa had run out, but he believes there's been a mistake and is fighting to get back to his studies.

Mr Duong says he was told he still had two months to run on his visa, but the Immigration Department says it ran out last year.

Louise Milligan reports.

LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: Too terrified to be identified, this Vietnamese student was almost killed simply because he was Asian. In 2012, Minh Duong was the victim of a horrific hate crime. The Vietnamese national, just 21 at the time, was on his way home from his part-time job at a convenience store in Moonee Ponds when he was beaten senseless by three neo-Nazi skinheads, Shannon Hudson, Wayne O'Brien and another minor who can't be named.

The men punched and kicked Minh Duong 70 times, stabbed him and smashed a brick over his head with such force that the brick broke in two.

BETTY KING, SUPREME COURT JUSTICE: The beating he was given by you was remorseless, violent and sustained. You made statements such as, "You f***ing gook," and, "You yellow dog."

The story horrified Melbourne, in particular music teacher Adrian De Luca.

ADRIAN DE LUCA, FRIEND (via Skype from Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam): I couldn't imagine someone picking up a brick and smashing it on someone's head to the point where the brick actually breaks in half. And when I heard that, my heart just fell apart, really. I thought, "This happened so close to where I work. Let me try to offer him some form of maybe healing through music lessons."

LOUISE MILLIGAN: This is a short film from YouTube describing Minh Duong's rehabilitation through music.

But Minh Duong's journey came to a crashing halt last Wednesday when he arrived at Melbourne Airport at Tullamarine. He was stopped at the gate. Adrian De Luca, speaking to 7.30 via Skype from Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam with Minh Duong now, explains what happened next.

ADRIAN DE LUCA (via Skype from Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam): The check-in lady called over an Immigration officer who pulled Minh aside and said to Minh, "Oh, it looks like you haven't been at school for many, many months." And Minh said, "Absolutely, there's something wrong here," because he trawled out his transcripts saying that he had just completed 2013, all his studies at Swinburne University. And then the officer said, "Well, your visa has expired many, many months ago. You're an unlawful citizen. You shouldn't be here."

LOUISE MILLIGAN: He was told his visa had expired in March, 2013, but what Minh Duong was told at the airport completely contradicted what this May, 2010 email from the Immigration Department granting him his student visa said.

IMMIGRATION DEPARTMENT EMAIL (male voiceover): "Your visa is valid until the 15th March, 2014. Your visa allows you multiple entry to Australia. This means you can leave Australia and re-enter as many times as you like ...".

LOUISE MILLIGAN: According to the email, Minh's visa still had two months till it expired.

Meanwhile, Minh Duong is in limbo in Ho Chi Minh, told by Immigration he's banned from re-entering Australia for three years.

KEVIN BURKE: (Reading from letter) "Severe swelling of his brain, severe swelling to the victim's face, multiple fractures to the skull, multiple fractures to his jaw and multiple fractures to the orbital bone around his eye socket."

LOUISE MILLIGAN: The letter asks the department to take the crime into account when making its decision.

Earlier today, a change.org petition to Immigration Minister Scott Morrison asking that Minh Duong be returned to Australia had 67,000 signatures supporting him.

Minh's brother, Chris, has one plea for the minister.

CHRIS DUONG, BROTHER: To meet Scott Morrison, just please intervene and bring my brother back to Australia to finish his study.

LOUISE MILLIGAN: 7.30 received a statement from Mr Morrison's office saying Minh Duong would be supported by our embassy in Vietnam, but the minister maintained Minh Duong left Australia as an unlawful non-citizen because his student visa expired in March, 2013. We sent the minister's office the Immigration Department email that said it expired in March this year, but the minister was unable to explain the apparent contradiction.

ADRIAN DE LUCA (via Skype from Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam): We have to take care of this young man. He's an international guest. He's not a refugee. He did not come here illegal. He's not an illegal immigrant. He came here; our citizens damaged him. Our citizens should fix him.

MINH DUONG (via Skype from Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam): It's all about the humanity. Please, just give us a chance to fix everything.

LEIGH SALES: And a short time ago, 7.30 received a further statement from the Immigration Minister's office about the apparent contradiction between its records and Minh Duong's, saying it takes instances of fraud seriously and is investigating.